Follow Through
by kamikazecat
Summary: Shoujoai haters, don't read. Sequel to Happy or Happier and I Choose Happier, so read those first.


AN: And here is yet another story. Takes place after "I Choose Happier." Hope you like.

**Follow Through**

Mamoru couldn't believe what he was hearing. No matter how many times he had her repeat herself, it still didn't make sense to him. Wasn't destiny on his side? Wasn't the future already written? Wasn't the past proof of what was meant to be? Didn't she understand that it wasn't just a matter of choice, but a matter of obligation and necessity and destiny all rolled into one?

Oh yeah. Can't forget to throw guaranteed undying and everlasting love in there, too.

Reaching an anxious hand up, he nervously ran his fingers through his already mussed hair. This couldn't be happening. There was no way. She was just speaking nonsense, that was all. She always did have her head in the clouds. She just needed to be reminded of all that she would be destroying. She would understand if she heard it from him.

Letting a shaky smile rest on his features, he chuckled uncertainly. "Usako… Don't be ridiculous. What you're saying isn't possible." That's it. She would understand. He would make her understand and it would all be alright again. "You don't know what you're saying. Now, come on, we can go to see Motoki and get a shake or something and you can…"

He was cut off by a gently assertive voice. Not the voice of his Usako. But, somehow it came from her lips. The voice was so calm and sure. Usako never sounded like that. And he knew her better than anyone.

"No, Mamoru-kun. I know exactly what I'm saying. And I'm not being ridiculous." Usagi knew she was doing what she wanted. There was no doubt in her mind that this was the right decision for her. She was so happy! Since she had discovered what she truly desired, she had become so much happier than she had been. And this was no different. It did cause her pain to do this to the man she still did love on some level, but it felt as if a weight was being lifted from her shoulders. Nothing would stop her. Not even stubborn Mamoru himself. "I love Rei. I belong with her. She belongs with me. Mamoru, you and I, we're over."

Stumbling back as if he had been struck, Mamoru stared at the blonde in front of him. His voice, when he finally got it to work somewhat properly, came out in a rough kind of whisper. "Usako, do you know what you'll be doing if you go through with this? Do you realize what you'll destroy? What about Crystal Tokyo? Our future together? Chibi-Usa?"

Usagi smiled gently at her future daughter's name. That same question about Chibi-Usa's existence had occurred to her just two days ago. Rei had brought it up, actually. And, in all honestly, the former moon princess wasn't all that worried. Her heart was telling her that everything would turn out okay on that subject. And she always trusted what her heart told her. "I don't have any doubt in my mind that I will see my daughter in the future, even without my relationship with you. I'll figure it out. I know I will." After looking into his startled eyes for a moment, she looked away, across the park and over the lake, where she could just see the sun setting between the trees. "As for the rest… Crystal Tokyo is just a city. The peace of the universe will still come to be. And as for our future together…" Turning her eyes back to his, she made her words firm. "Our future together is no more."

Mamoru stared at her, horrified. She really was breaking up with him. She really was sure of her decision. She wasn't listening to him. His future was dissolving before his very eyes. And he wouldn't stand for it.

Almost growling, he lunged forward, gripping her arm tightly, ignoring her wince of pain. Turning, he started to walk off, thinking he was going to drag her out of the park with him and away. Where to, he didn't know. Just out of the park and someplace where he could convince her of her stupidity. Of her faulty logic.

But when he tugged harshly on her arm, she didn't budge. He pulled again, trying to yank her off balance so she would stumble after him, but still Usagi didn't move. Whirling around, he glared at her, gripping her arm even tighter. "Usako, what you're doing is nonsense! Throwing away a future on a whim! For another woman! One of your own Senshi, no less!"

Fierce blue eyes stared back at him. Usagi wouldn't give up. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest at his outburst, and his grip on her arm was bruising, but she was the Champion of Love and Justice! Sailor Moon never backed down from what her heart was telling her. "I love her! Love is never nonsense! You always say you fight to protect love. Do you fight for a lie?"

His low growl turned into a snarl as he grabbed her other arm and gave her a violent shake. "I fight for love! I fight for the future! Isn't that what we have?" Baring his teeth when she didn't answer, he shook her again, determined to get an answer out of her. "We had everything! Weren't you happy!"

"Yes."

Taken back by her soft reply, Mamoru reeled back. "Wh-what?" What was she saying? She was happy, yet she still wanted to end it all? She still wanted to end everything that they had?

Breaking her arms free of his now loose grasp, Usagi raised her determined eyes to his. "Yes. I was happy." She said it softly, truthfully.

Falling to his knees, Mamoru could do nothing but look helplessly up at her. "Then what? Why do you want to throw everything away?"

Shaking her head gently, a wry smile came to her lips. "That's all you ever want. For me to be happy. Always for me to be happy."

Nodding, Mamoru could do nothing to sort out the confusion her words were creating in him. Wasn't she just supporting his argument? Wasn't she supposed to be denying everything they had? His voice was no more than a whisper. "Always. I want you to be happy. What's so wrong with that?"

That smile still in place, Usagi sighed a bit as she looked across the landscape, gathering her thoughts. She was feeling shaken. All she wanted to do now was crawl into her miko's arms and stay there the entire night. But she had to finish this. And Mamoru wasn't giving up without a fight. It was just like him, to fight to keep what he felt was right.

Right for him, maybe. But not right for her.

And she wanted to do something that was right for her for a change.

"I do know, Mamoru. You want me to be happy. And I am. But… what if I could be happier?" Usagi glanced at him, tears forming in her eyes. "What if I could have what I've always wanted and more? More than I've ever dreamed of, more than I ever knew existed? What if I could be blissfully happy, rather than just content?"

Kneeling in front of him, she took his face in her hands. A sob broke free of her throat as she continued. "Would you have me just be happy when I could be ecstatic? Would you have me stay in a simply stable relationship when I could have unbridled love mixed with passion and unpredictable excitement? Would you condemn me to such a fate when I could have so much more?"

Mamoru couldn't respond. There were no words. He stared deep into her teary blue eyes and saw her as he never saw her before. A woman who craved passion. A woman who craved life. And he couldn't speak. He could just stare up at his Usako as she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes on her sleeve and sniffing.

Usagi turned to walk away, and Mamoru reached out to her, still clinging to some sort of hope, some sort of desperate ideal. "Usako…" He couldn't help but think that this might be a trick of the mind, that she would turn around and give him that grin and leap into his arms as she had so many times before.

Pausing, the blonde turned around and looked curiously at the man on his knees in the middle of the park path. "Mamoru-kun… I would appreciate it if you called me Usagi. 'Usako' is a name I intend to leave behind."

And she was gone.

Usagi ran up the countless stone steps, finding comfort in the familiar burn in her muscles as she reached the top.

Stopping to catch her breath, the blonde doubled over. Breaking up with Mamoru had been harder than she thought it would have been. She had no illusions about it, she did love Mamoru. But it was so dim in comparison to the love she held for a certain raven haired miko. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit depressed…

A soft voice interrupted her thoughts, and she smiled despite the episode she had just been through. The voice, to her, sounded like glowing embers. "Princess?"

Looking up, Usagi saw her Angel. Rei was still dressed in her miko robes, and looked incredibly nervous as she fidgeted and hesitated to come closer to the blonde than arms length. Why did she look so worried?

Her smile faded slightly as she realized that Rei was afraid. Rei was afraid that she wouldn't break up with Mamoru. That Mamoru would again take her away. That Usagi would continue to not be hers as she had for many years. That the confessions of love and promises of a life together were still just a dream.

Well, Usagi just had to convince the miko otherwise.

Stepping forward, the blonde gently gripped one on Rei's wrists and gave a gentle tug, pulling the dark haired girl close enough to enfold her in a loose embrace. Leaning forward quickly, she stole a short kiss from soft lips. She rested her forehead against the slightly taller girl's and closed her eyes, smiling happily. "Tadaima. I'm home, Angel-Rei."

Rei's tense form relaxed in her arms, and she could feel the smile blooming on the miko's lips. A soft, relieved voice reached her ears, and she felt a surge of warmth wash through her as a gentle hand caressed her back. "Okaeri, Usa-chan. Welcome back, my Princess."


End file.
